The result could not be considered unthinkable, because October baseball expands the realm of possibility and exposes the soul to untold anguish. The Dodgers had avoided this fate for so much of these playoffs. They were the team who broke hearts, who snuffed out dreams. Except until this week, they had not stared down an opponent like the Houston Astros.

On Wednesday evening, in the final innings of Game 2 of the World Series, the veneer of invincibility surrounding the Dodgers bullpen shattered beneath the might of Houston's offense in a 7-6 defeat that tied this series at one victory each. Kenley Jansen blew a save by yielding a solo homer in the ninth. Josh Fields yielded two more in the 10th. After scoring two runs in the bottom of the 10th, the Dodgers turned to Brandon McCarthy for the 11th.

Oct. 25, 2017, 8:55 p.m.

The Dodgers bullpen, which has been so good this season, unraveled in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday, giving up four runs in three innings. Two came on back-to-back homers by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in the 10th inning, giving the Houston Astros a 5-3 lead to break a tie.

The runs came off Josh Fields, who had allowed just one hit in three previous playoff appearances. But Fields would never have entered the game if closer Kenley Jansen had been able to do his job.

Ricardo Jaquez grew up in Frogtown, back when it was called Elysian Valley.

He and his pals would ride their bikes up the hill, through Echo Park to Dodger Stadium and pay $3 to sit in the left field pavilion for games.

When Kirk Gibson hit his famous home run, Jaquez was sitting on the floor of his grandmother’s living room at her home on Benedict Street near the Los Angeles River, watching on her big wooden television.